Symphony honors kids’ favorite snowplow

Friday

Jan 23, 2009 at 12:01 AMJan 23, 2009 at 11:02 PM

In honor of award-winning author Virginia Lee Burton’s centennial year, the Cape Ann Symphony will present the world premiere of a symphony to accompany her story, “Katy and the Big Snow,” at its annual Family Concert on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Fuller School auditorium.

Annelise Eaton

In honor of Gloucester resident and award-winning author Virginia Lee Burton’s centennial year, the Cape Ann Symphony will be presenting the world premiere of the symphony to accomany her story, “Katy and the Big Snow,” at its annual Family Concert.

The symphony will be performed at the Fuller auditorium at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for youth.

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Cape Ann Symphony Performs

Mike Costello, who recently retired as head of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, will narrate.

“We’ve never done a world premiere that was commissioned by the symphony,” coordinator Bruce Bradshaw said. “This is a first.”

“Katy and the Big Snow” tells the story of a tractor that pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in he winter. The tractor, Katy, is too powerful to be used until a snowstorm buries the city up to its second story windows.

“The story is set in Geoppolis which is a fanciful rendering of Gloucester,” said Heidi Dallin of the Cape Ann Symphony.

Dallin said Burton had children on whom she tested all of her stories before they were published. The production’s composer, Robert Bradshaw of Gloucester, also tests his work on his school-age children.

Robert Bradshaw said working on “Katy and the Big Snow” has been a rewarding composing experience as the story was among his favorites as a child.

He said “the chance to set one of [his] childhood favorite stories, Virginia Lee Burton’s anniversary celebration, and the beautiful illustrations and musically organized text” produced “more inspiration than you could possibly hope for with an artistic project.”

The process of writing and performing “Katy and the Big Snow” has involved more than composing and preparing for a symphony. The book was read to all first-graders as a part of the First R Program and musicians from the Cape Ann Symphony visited all fourth- and fifth-grade classes on Cape Ann as a prelude to the concert that they will be performing for these students on Jan. 23.

During the school visits, Robert Bradshaw spoke to students about the art of composing and explained to them the mechanics of various instruments involved in the concert, including the French horn, the trumpet, the flute and the violin.

Afterward, students listened to various excerpts from the production, played by five members of the symphony, and saw a few of Virginia Burton’s illustrations from the book.

Bruce Bradshaw, who put together a packet of education materials involving the performance for all elementary music teachers on Cape Ann, said the mission of the school visits is straightforward.

“We get the kids involved and they can interact with the musicians,” he said. “It’s a very simple concept: get the music to the kids.”

Student involvement in the production transcends the school visit. Throughout the concert, projections of the book’s original artwork will be displayed above the orchestra. For the final song, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” fourth- and fifth-graders have been invited to draw their own fireworks that will be projected on the screen.

Conductor Yoichi Ugadawa said he believes the music will capture the children’s attention by reflecting the themes and activity of “Katy and the Big Snow.”

“The composer has written a really wonderful score that captures the mood and feel of the book,” Ugadawa said.

Pam Burton, who is married to Virginia Lee Burton’s nephew and is on the board of the Cape Ann Symphony, said turning “Katy and the Big Snow” into a musical production seemed fitting for a family show during a New England winter.

“This show is all about Gloucester and that seemed like a natural fit, with it being the dead of winter and this being [Virginia Lee Burton’s] hometown,” Burton said.